


Pragmatics

by PANTAL00NS



Series: Pearlina Oneshots [1]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: ??? - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, I really have no idea how to tag this, Marina contemplates to herself and is generally gay for Pearl, general musing, there we go that counts as a tag right?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 18:42:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19183522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PANTAL00NS/pseuds/PANTAL00NS
Summary: Love is a language.





	Pragmatics

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn’t planned, but the idea started up while I was working on a counterpart to “i’m so full of love i can barely breathe” and Marina would not be silenced. So here we are. I apologize if this reads awkwardly.
> 
> " _Pragmatic language_ refers to the social language skills that we use in our daily interactions with others."

Love is a language.  
  
That is not to say it is spoken linguistically.  There are no phonemes or morphemes.  No grammar.  No syntax.  
  
There is, however, diction.  Structure.  Vocabulary.  _Meaning_.  
  
Each gesture is a conversation in and of itself.  A smile can hold weight in so many different ways.  A flirt of an eyebrow can be playful, just as a telltale droop can also mean displeasure.  The way a hand is held speaks volumes upon volumes in a way words cannot even begin to describe.  
  
More than that, more than anything else, is that it is entirely unknowable to those who are not fluent.  
  
Marina recognizes this.  Not immediately, of course.  There is no set syllabus when it comes to love.  A general guideline may exist in the form of custom, culture, and tradition; but a guideline is not a rigid ruleset.  Just like any other young person toeing the line into a relationship, she learns not by a book, but by doing.  
  
Learning a new language is difficult.  This, Marina is fully aware of.  Even with her genius intellect, she still dedicated many hours of countless amounts of effort at Pearl’s side to painstakingly learn Inkling.  Though it does possess similarities to Octarian, the differences between the two take a great deal to master.  To the day, she still slips occasionally, much to Pearl’s amusement, and will be stuck using descriptive terms in frustration until Pearl helpfully supplies the proper noun.  
  
She has Pearl to help her with linguistical errors in Inkling.  However; when it comes to love, there is no safety net.  No fall back plan.  The only tools she has at her disposal are patience and communication.  
  
There is a lot to be said both.  Patience?  Patience is easy enough to manage.  Frustration can happen – shell knows, Pearl frustrates Marina often enough.  Marina is also fully aware that she frustrates Pearl.  But they manage.  They have a system.  If someone needs space, they get it.  They can take time and cool off and have a think over what it is that is upsetting them, and then go back with fresh outlooks.  
  
Communication is the more difficult part.   How many relationships have fallen apart just because people don’t _talk_?  It’s such a simple thing, yet so very hard at the same time.  To talk is to be vulnerable, to admit that everything isn’t perfect.  Yet, to forgo communication is to welcome argument, to fight.  
  
Much to the surprise of any who asks, Marina has never fought with Pearl.  Ever.  They have never gotten mad at each other.  Frustrated, yes.  Angry?  Absolutely not.  They talk about everything together.  They are girlfriends, yes, but they are also the very best of friends.  There are no secrets between them.  Mistakes?  Well, mistakes are just a part of life.  They cannot expect themselves to be perfect, much less hold each other to those same unattainable standards.  
  
Love, like language, takes two people (sometimes more).  It is a communication with its own code they each learn day by day, year by year.  It evolves.  It changes.  Sometimes it shifts so slowly that what one thing meant three months ago has a completely new connotation the next week.  
  
Love is a silent smile in a quiet room.  _I’m thinking about you._  
  
Love is the squeeze of a hand in her own.  _I appreciate you_.  
  
Love is a kiss breathed into the back of Pearl’s neck, answered with sputtering and a flailing of limbs.  _I enjoy the sound of your laughter._  
  
Love is being hugged from behind.  _I feel safe with your arms around me._  
  
Love is pressing close while watching a movie.  _I am happy to share this moment with you_.  
  
Love is a disagreement over dinner.  _I recognize that our differences make us who we are_.  
  
Love is crying into Pearl’s shoulder in the dead of night.  _I’m not as strong as I want to be, but I am grateful you are willing to be an anchor in my weakness._  
  
No one gives silent language much thought.  Merely the concept brings to mind ISL or OSL.  Yet there is more to be had.  The way the voice raises in pitch when asking a question, the maintaining of eye contact, turn-taking during conversation, facial expression, tone of voice – all of those are language of their own.  An entirely silent language, completely lacking phonemes or grammar or syntax.  
  
And here Marina is, marveling at how everyone who falls in love learns a new language all their own, with pragmatics utterly unique to their own relationship.  Perhaps she is thinking too hard.  
  
Then again, perhaps if more people gave thought to the subject then their own love lives may be richer.  After all, language is fundamentally a communication between at least two people, and what is a more intimate language than that of love?

**Author's Note:**

> Unrelated side note because I have had people comment on the subject before. You can ABSOLUTELY have a relationship without fighting with your partner(s). The amount of people who genuinely believe that fighting "is just a thing that happens in relationships" is very sad. I speak this as someone who has been in a relationship for almost 13 years now and has never once fought with my significant other. Please don't be afraid to pursue a relationship because you fear that you'll have to fight with your partner(s) one day. Love, and relationships, are a long-term project and a process. If you and your partner(s) put forth equal effort into making it work, I guarantee you will be blessed with something beautiful. <3


End file.
